2001 Craig Biggio Game used Jersey - NOT!

[Texstros]

All,

Came across a 2001 Craig Biggio pinstripe Jersey on eBay this week. This jersey shows tremendous use & lots of wear. Letters, numbers & even a ton of tar. Jersey looked like it had seen a few games. Seller had video on Youtube & talks about it in length - (it has since been removed). Boy did I get excited until he sent me a picture of the wash tag. This tag is crispy crisp new & its a 6200 wash code.

I went through every photo & video I have been able to find - no match. As a matter of fact, it looks like biggio wore 1 jersey primarly. I contacted the Astros organization as well & was told it was not used by Biggio. Its obvious with a crispy wash tag it wouldnt show as much use as this jersey has. The letter & number fraying was a nice touch!

I had to tell the seller he was sold a "Bad" jersey & boy was he upset. To be honest people that mislead or sell fake jerseys like this make me want to pull out of this hobby. This disgust me & it is not right..its a amazing people can sleep at night.

I have saved & posted pictures below so if this "jersey" makes it back in the open market it can be easly identified.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Craig-Biggio-Sig...item4aa86abd27

[dcrules01]

I saw that jersey the seller sday he purchased it from Chris Boyd who is a big Biggio collector. The 6200 tag has been spotted on gamers. Would like to here what Chris has to say about the jersey. I love post 9-11 jerseys and was watching this. Thanks for the input.

[frikativ54]

I saw that jersey the seller sday he purchased it from Chris Boyd who is a big Biggio collector. The 6200 tag has been spotted on gamers. Would like to here what Chris has to say about the jersey. I love post 9-11 jerseys and was watching this. Thanks for the input.

I understand a 6200 jersey seeing use; it happens from time to time. What I don't undersand is how a jersey with this much use could show a crisp washtag.

[dcrules01]

How many jerseys are issued to an Astros player? Good point though about the crisp wash tag. Always the theory that the Astros were issued new jerseys post 9-11 or were the flag patches added to jerseys that were currently being used. There are a lot of scenerios. If someone altered the jersey how do they fray the numbers? The dirt on the jersey and pine tar can come from just 1 game that is always a possibility. Like I said curious to see what Chris says. Always a possibility he sold the jersey as an autographed authentic to another buyer and this collector bought it from someone that stated it came from Chris. Has anyone contacted him. You contacted the Astros that was a good idea who did you speak with? The bad thing is the seller had some nice jerseys do we question them also?

[frikativ54]

The seller did the honorable thing by ending the auction early. I would love to hear from the original owner of the jersey about some of the concerns raised by Texstros.

-Frik

[dcrules01]

I emailed Chris to let him know about the thread. Its ashame its a nice jersey.

[ziggy]

Did he even wear a 44 in 2001? If so, when did he start wearing a 46?

[ziggy]

I am answering my own question....Chris Boyd said in 2006 on the forum that all 2000 to current Biggio jerseys should be size 46. Here is the link:

http://www.gameuseduniverse.com/vb_f...ead.php?t=4351

[eGameUsed]

Thanks Scott for emailing me. I don't frequent the forum much.

As for the jersey, I did in fact sell the jersey as is to the seller on eBay in 2002. This past weekend when I saw the jersey listed, I immediately emailed the seller and told him I was very eager to buy back. I always regretted selling this 2001 jersey, but decided to sell as I had another 2001 Road Biggio in my collection. Since 2002, one of my collection focused has been Biggio, so I am after and and all items. Knowing I sold him the jersey, I was interested in buying it back.

I purchased the jersey from a reputable contact and provider of many Astros items in the late 1990s and early 2000s. In fact, I purchased other post 9/11 items included a couple of helmets and jerseys.

In 2002, I myself and most people were unaware of the "0062" versus "6200" tagging. If I knew back then what I know now, I would have been more hesitant. I purchased and sold the jersey before I knew "6200" jerseys were considered retail.

I notified the eBay seller immediately after reading this thread and learning more about the jersey (which I regret I did not know in 2002). He noted that Shawn contacted him and how Shawn contacted the Astros Authentication Manager to get an opinion on the jersey. The seller noted that he ended the auction as "to not cause a fuss about it." The seller was not going to even contact me as he was not concerned, but replied to me promptly when I e-mailed him letting him know there were concerns about the tagging. I told the seller I intend to buy back the jersey and I was unaware of any tagging discrepencies 8 years ago at time of sell. As with any items, I honor 100% guarantee on any items.

I apologize for not knowing this information sooner but want to make things right. I do plan to contact the original seller that sold the jersey to me. I have received many items from this seller, including multiple photomatched items so I believe this to be either something that slipped past him, but I will certainly follow-up.

In regard to "6200" tagging, they do exist on Astros jerseys. I have a 2001 Astros Home Pinstripe of a "common" player with 6200 tag that I purchased direct from the team. I am also aware of other jerseys purchased from the Astros that have 6200 tagging or are missing inner tagging. Obviously, legit 6200 are a rare exception and should be carefully reviewed.

In regard to use, the use is consistent for one or more games, just in an unwashed state. Biggio was known for being very dirty with tar. I also sold this jersey prior to photomatching being popular task of game worn collectors. At the time, I believed the jersey to be consistent.

In regard to size, I have Biggio jerseys in the following sizes:

1990 - 40
1996 - 44
1999 - 46
2000 - 44
2002 - 46
2003 - 46
2006 - 46
2007 - 46

There seems to be some variation in the 1999-2002 era between 44 and 46. 46 was certainly his size of choice in 2002 to 2007.

Please e-mail me if anyone has any further questions.

Thanks,

[Texstros]

How many jerseys are issued to an Astros player? Good point though about the crisp wash tag. Always the theory that the Astros were issued new jerseys post 9-11 or were the flag patches added to jerseys that were currently being used. There are a lot of scenerios. If someone altered the jersey how do they fray the numbers? The dirt on the jersey and pine tar can come from just 1 game that is always a possibility. Like I said curious to see what Chris says. Always a possibility he sold the jersey as an autographed authentic to another buyer and this collector bought it from someone that stated it came from Chris. Has anyone contacted him. You contacted the Astros that was a good idea who did you speak with? The bad thing is the seller had some nice jerseys do we question them also?

Just to answer a few questions.

Biggio used 1 jersey post 9-11... Numbers can be frayed a number of ways, a hard brush ect... I spoke with astros authentication manager & other team reps.
I cant question his other items but this one. No way in hell did Biggio ever see or use this jersey!